


The Vannar Saga

by Bartric



Category: Warhammer, Warhammer - All Media Types, Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors
Genre: Adepta Sororitas vs the Genestealer cult., Adeptus Astartes vs Chaos Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus vs Tau, Astra militarum vs the Orks, Ave Imperator, Bloodshed, Violence, Warhammer 40.000 - Freeform, all out war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23321674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bartric/pseuds/Bartric
Summary: Vannar, once a Civilized world under the banner of the Imperium, now under a threat of war; from the Brutal savage Orks to the Unrelenting force of Chaos, under siege by Tau forces to claim the planet as part of its ever growing empire, and attacked within by the genestealer cults. The imperium has dispatched a large force to retake the planet and annihilate the enemies of man with swift brutality and unbending fury. This story follows four Imperial heroes as they lay down their lives to retake the Planet, and put an end to the suffering. Suffer not the Xeno, Suffer not the Heretic, suffer not the lies of false gods, may the Emperor protect them.
Kudos: 2





	1. Nullum Ignorantiae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the story, leave any comments, Ave Imperator. =)

_**300.002.M42** _

_**Pvt. Alexandr** _

_**Age 25** _

_**Valhallan 501st Infantry Regiment, Third Company.** _

_**Aboard the Ship: Mors a Sanguine.** _

“ _My name is Alexandr; I am a private of the Astra Militarum. I am from Valhalla, a world covered in Deathly cold ice, Where the winds are harsh, and the only the heat from our lasguns keep us warm in those cold nights, we are named many things throughout the God emperor’s realm “Ice warriors”, “Ork Burners”, “Scavengers”, However, our better nickname is “Survivors”, I write these words into my journal, for I feel that my days here will be my last, but I do not intend to die, not yet… I write because I wish to recount the days of my survival, and if anyone lucky to find this journal may be interested in my experiences in this life before my timely death; this is my story…_ ”

* * *

In the Cargo bay of the HMS Mors a Sanguine, The Astra Militarum are being prepared and fitted for battle, as they prepare to enter Vannar’s Planet Surface, inside the Ship’s cargo bay was a lined array of Leman Russ tank Divisions, Boxes carrying either medical or ordinance for the weapons of the Imperial guard. What stood out more than the impressive amounts of Weaponry, vehicles or the ship itself, were the men at arms that gathered today in this war.

There were at least 7 regiments but with companies in the hundreds, some of these men were Catachans, they bear the usual uniform of Jungle fighters and their impressive blade work of their knives.

Next to them were the Standard uniformed regiments of the Cadian guardsman, It was not too long ago that their planet broke, yet the guard still stood, there hasn’t been many pureblooded Cadians these days, but their angered spirits live on with the God Emperor.

Another Regiment was the Tallarn Desert Fighters; brutal, cunning and very patient against their foes, they are ruly a force to reckon with, and they do not give up a hunt without spilling enough blood to sate the Emperor’s fury.

Another regiment that stood out are the Tempestus Scions; unlike the other guardsmen in the ship, they’re in smaller numbers, in formation and disciplined, only for a number of them only performing tasks such as Vehicle maintenance, weapons count and Communications with their Commanders or Commissar, but despite being hated by a majority of the Guardsmen, it was admitted, they are the best of the best in the Astra Militarum.

In the far corner of the ship, there was the regiment of the Death korps of Krieg, there have been many tales about these fearless, powerful, yet soulless men; They are guardsman of legends, their battles of attrition and undying loyalty is what many Commissars wish out of all of the Imperial guardsmen to be like, sadly, the Krieg’s consider themselves nothing more than tools for an unending war machine.

In the front of the Bay doors stood the Vostroyan Firstborns regiment, proud Firstborn sons of the families on their home planet of Vostroya, Their black mark on history fell during the dark times of the Horus Heresy, but over the many years, they have atoned their ancestor’s deeds, but it was now tradition to send of their firstborns to war, but they have clearly proven to be not only the bravest next to the krieg, but their weapons and armor have been considered a blessing to the Vostroyan guard.

Finally next to the Vostroyan regiment was a large force of Valhallen companies, these brave men and women are the sturdiest and most dangerous of all guardsman, despite being warriors of the cold, the Valhallan guardsman have been the fiercest in battle and the more stubborn, they will refuse to give any enemy leeway, and make their enemy burn with their tactical use of flamers.

Among the Valhallan Ice warriors was Alexandr, who stood among his fellow Valhallan, He noticed that some of the more excitable were younger at least no more than 17, while others who prayed stoically or stood silent were much older some with notable scars, veterans and the like.

Alexandr wore the typical uniform of the Valhallan Ice Warriors. He wore a large warm coat with the imperial uniform and flak armor underneath it and a Pilotka on top of his head; over his coat he carried a makeshift pack carrying his rations, his journal and extra clothing. Around his belt he carried the essentials for survival, extra ammunition in his pouch, a knife/bayonet sheathe, a single frag grenade and smoke grenade and in a boxy looking pouch he carried the Imperial Primer, an important booklet that gave the servicemen of the imperium both hope in the line of fire and to learn basic training to survive, Ignoring the obvious Propaganda about their enemy, this gave the men something to chuckle.

Lastly, the most important tool for dealing with the enemy: the Imperial Lasgun, sadly unlike the rest of the imperium the Valhallan Lasgun was crude by design and with some parts made from wood, however, the weapon is far more reliant than it appears, the weapon is able to take in not only a power pack for its Laser ammunition, but a small metal firing mechanism design that allowed them to use .8mm ammunition, meaning that if the Las-mechanism is jammed or damaged, the Solider can switch mechanisms and use bolt pistol ammunition as a replacement. The Valhallan Lasgun is also easy to maintain as it requires little maintenance, due to the quick production of the weapon during Valhalla’s harsher years, and the weapon doesn’t overheat easily in combat due to the wood having small holes drilled in for extra wind to flow through the weapon’s cooling system.

Alexandr was a native on Valhalla, he knew that many of his people were survivors, they can handle anything that throws at them; Alexandr had seen only minor amounts of combat, usually from light Ork scout teams, he has never been in an all-out war before, he wished he wasn’t transferred from his post to the front lines, not out of fear, but out of regret, wishing to leave the armed forces, but working in a weapons manufactorum, or perhaps transferred to a agri-world to assist in food productions for the Astra Militarum, maybe get married later, have children… At this moment however, Alexandr faced the harsh truth; that he may not live to see another sunrise once the doors open.

“Why so serious, Comrade?” A thick accented Valhallan asked as he playfully pats Alexandr’s shoulder. Alexandr turned to face Vasili, One of Alexandr’s new Squad mates; like him and the rest of the Valhallan he wore the same uniform, though he was wearing an Ushanka, they met back at Alexandr’s previous station briefly before they were both transferred to the Vannar Campaign.

Alexandr shook his head. “Forgive me; I just have a lot on my mind Vasili.” Alexandr said somberly in his equally thick accent. He looked at the front of the bay doors, feeling a large pit settling in his stomach. “Vasili, have you… ever fought on the front before?”

Vasili shook his head. “I’m afraid not Alex, I have not been to any form of conflicts, minor skirmishes with Ork raiders or other xeno filth, but nothing like this, it’s my first time seeing a Krieg in my life, the stories do seem rather true… they are scary.” Vasili said with a chuckle as he stared at the Death Korp.

Alexandr chuckled at his comrade’s light hearted humor before an announcement was overheard from the ships speaker. “ **ALL UNITS REPORT TO THE FRONT OF THE BAY DOORS IN ORDER, STAND BY YOUR REGIMENT AND COMPANY, FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN DEATH, FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE ADDRESSED SOON**.”

In no time almost all the soldiers lined up in their respective units, company and battalion, in some form of strange miracle, not one shot was fired, it seemed that this was a good thing for the moment. As they stood in front of the Bay doors, Multiple Officers, Each from their respective Guard regiment, appeared on one side of the bay doors, on the other side standing in attention were 700 Commissars, They’re the guard’s “Handlers” as they keep the military men in order along with providing morale boost for wavering soldiers; albeit in Executions or inspiring yet blunt speeches, either way, they were needed in any harsh times of war.

In the middle however stood the man in charge; Lord General Marcus Dante Brieger. He was a tall, imposing yet wise looking man, no older than in his 120s at least, his face covered in scars, but notably his left eye was his cybernetic augmented eye, he wore a cadian styled General’s uniform, signifying his birth from late Cadia, on his chest was a red sash to prove of his rank, along with the several medals of his long service for the Imperium, on his shoulders rested was his military jacket, it looked torn and ragged, seemed to have seen some action on the field on time or another, on his side was an embroidered Bolt gun, on his wrists he carried lightning claw gauntlets along with a twin barreled bolter attached onto his right arm.

The Lord General looked around at the hanger filled with men under his command. A couple of skull servitors hovered near him, his image shown onto the ship’s computer screen, once the men are at their full attention, and the sound was on, The Lord General began to speak.

“I am Lord General Marcus Dante Brieger; Rule one, you are all no good to me dead.” His voice was loud and booming on the screen, but to those that were near him, they heard a calm yet stern tone from his voice. As the men continued to stand at attention, some looking rather concerned by his starting words; he continued.

“Right, with that out of the way, You are all probably wondering why I have dragged each and every one of you off your posts, and why there is a mix of many Regimental guard units, I’ll tell you why…” As he explained the Screen popped up Planet Vannar. “This is Planet Vannar, a Civilized Imperial planet, The planet’s entire system is a range of similar ecosystems, some quite similar to the stories of Ancient Terra and possibly close to your homes, The planet is a key resource to producing the metals of the very armor and weapons you are using to defend humanity from its Enemies; you all might be wondering, why is this planet any different than from any other planet in the system, I’ll tell you why, this planet is only one flight away from Holy Terra, that’s right, our Terra.”

Suddenly a burst of shock and anger rose in all that were in the room, as some cried out in outrage of the situation and some already demanding blood, As they continued to shout in patriotic bloodlust a loud shrieking from Servitors caused the men to hold onto their ears as the sound hurt their ears, once the sound stopped and the men quieted down, the General continued.

“I figured, you all might get antsy on the situation, don’t worry too much, despite the Planet being close to Terra, its as close to simply one thousand years in light speed, and if they use the warp, they won’t be able to reach Terra itself not without giving our Psykers a warning alert, and with their arrival met with our fleet ready to obliterate them… However, this is not the case in this point; Our Psykers have discovered that there is ancient Eldar Tech in the main city of Kyrtas on the planet, The Tech-priests from mars have concluded that this tech is so powerful that it can propel our ships through the warp without being interfered by enemy psykers, however, there is one small catch, in order for this piece of technology to work, the machine needs to absorb the souls of a planet to even activate it, as the Mechanicus have translated the vile Xeno scriptures, Naturally we will be disposing it, as we can’t risk this type of sacrifice, it’s not like our Exterminatus, as it will not only kill the population unnecessarily, but also tear the planet asunder into one giant asteroid belt.”  
The guardsmen all muttered to one another of the situation as they weren’t sure why they’re being sent then, it was rather simple, just destroy the xeno technology and get it over with. Alexandr looked around and heard the murmuring, as he raised his hand to catch the lord general’s attention. “Sir, why are we sent to the planet if the simple answer is to destroy this technology, it’s obviously both heretical and too dangerous to keep it, sir.”

The guard all but stopped as some of the men including Vasili looked at Alexandr with shock, some of them though he was going to be shot for speaking out of turn like that. The general chuckled for a moment. “Glad to see someone with a brain asking me that…” He quipped but then turned serious as he continued.

“You’re right soldier, as useful as this technology is, we can’t risk losing the planet, its population and resources to this technology, Plus as shameful for the Mechanicus to admit, we cannot replicate the technology without using a lot of energy to produce an equally similar result, with that said, we plan to destroy it, take it to a nearby sun and let the heat burn the damn thing to a crisp, however… That’s where we come in, it would seem news has traveled far about our discovery, and that is never any good.” He stated coldly as the screen switched over to an insignia of an Ork Symbol, A blurred picture, a Tau symbol and a Genestealer symbol.

“I’m afraid the enemies of man have gotten better ideas to use this machine; The Ork’s are in a frenzy sending a large Waagh, onto the planet, it’s not as large as the Armageddon Waagh, but The Orks are led by Warboss Nark Bloodspilla, a dangerous ork with a history with the Imperium, he has taken over three fortress Worlds, Seven Industrial and Mining worlds, and he even destroyed an entire chapter and its home world.” He said solemnly as he glares at the Picture of the Ork, on the picture the Ork was fully mechanized, he looked larger than a deffdred, and more vicious than an average Ork Nob. “We have reasons to suspect that he will want to use the Technology to open a Warp rift into Terra, and take it as a prize for his Waagh, it is our duty to stop him at all costs men.”

The Picture then slide over to a picture of a generic Chaos Space Marine. “I know some of you may have gotten the honored chance to witness or fight along a Space Marine, but as all of you have learned, the Space Marines do have traitors, and these are the ones that fell from grace, when they joined Horus and the Heretical forces of Chaos; we have reasons to believe that the Word Bearers will be bringing their forces to the Technology and cause a Demonic invasion into Terra, They are being led by a Sorcerer by the name of Zulthax, he has escaped death many times in the past, and he is currently being hunted by the Emperor’s Wrath chapter as we speak, regardless we shall do our part of stopping Chaos here, I will make sure of that.” He angrily stated.

The next picture shows a picture of a battle, with a red electronic circle focusing on a Tau commander in a mech-suit. “This Xeno is Sha’O Aun'Vre D'yanoi Mon'vash, a Commander of for the Tau forces, and an insidious speaker, he has made many Xeno planets fall into aligning themselves with the Tau, including seducing some our Imperial worlds to their sickening ideology, he is a master of Psychological warfare men, I want you all to stay In range of your commissars if you encounter them, as I will not tolerate any traitors among this force, but not only does he manipulate minds, he also has a tendency to steal and twists his enemies Technologies in betterment of the Tau empire, his latest attack struck a forgeworld and stole all of the planet’s Ancient blueprints and sullied the technology in the forgeworld, this has angered the Mechanicus on Mars and dispatched their units to our fight, to keep that in mind, we logically understand that he may try to steal this Eldar Tech and attempt to replicate the machine without the taxing sacrifice, we must slay this Deviant commander, so the Tau will be crippled in their rise to power.”

Finally the last picture was shown, though only a corpse of a Genestealer. “As many of you may not know what a Genestealer is, this Xeno Abomination is a Genestealer, from the Former Hive fleet Leviathan as can be seen from its purple carapace and White flesh, as you can see these abominations are from the Tyrannids, but as is our duty to slay the xeno, it is our duty to slay the Heretic.”

He proceeds to show an array of pictures showing a Tyrannid abomination to a Human mutant, or so many of the guardsmen believed. “This is the vicious and horrid cycle of a Genestealer’s existence, apparently from the studies of the Ordo Xenos, it would seem we have discovered as to why some of our planets have not readied themselves against an Tyrannid invasion, these are the prime examples because of those horrific events, it would seem the Genestealers have been doing this tactic for as long as we have encountered the Xeno filth, They seem to kidnap their victims and force them into a state of mental manipulation to “breed” with the vile xenos, spawning a mutant hybrid, in which the cycle of this form of breeding takes up to more than four generations until the enemy looks more human, that they can be passed off as Imperial citizens without checking them in detail, we have discovered this ploy on Vigilus, when an uprising had occurred, We took a second look back into our History of riots and uprisings against the Imperium and found Seven percent have been from these, as we classified them, Genestealer cults, They aren’t just found in Imperial worlds, but in Armoury worlds, Hive cities and many other planets, even a Shrine world, Reports from the planet has stated they witnessed a “patriarch”, the one that started this generation of xeno filth on the planet, to be leading the uprising, It would seem that this Xeno leader wishes to take the Technology as a way to infiltrate Holy Terra, We must do everything in our power to eliminate this creature from this universe once and for all; the Adepta Sororitas will be joining the fight on the planet, as it seems this specific Patriarch and it’s Cult have attacked their shrine world, thus bringing the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisters of battle into the conflict.” He stated grimly.

Once the screens return back to the Lord general, the men were speechless of the enemies they will be encountering onto the planet, no wonder this campaign required this many men.

The Lord General Continued to speak, with more authority of the grasp of the situation. “Men, I will not lie, The God Emperor and Holy Terra needs us, now more than ever, with these four threats looming over us like a guillotine, I will not express how urgent we need to be to protect the planet, as of now, as your lord general I expect each and every one of you to do your part… no, to do your greatest duty and give everything to this campaign, our empire is on the line and we as the first line must strike first and without mercy, I shall be dispatching One hundred Commissars to each Guard regiment, This war will take its toll but we will not fight alone, the Space marines, The sisters of battle and the Mechanicus will be joining us in this fight, the Emperor will not abandon his children, and as his children we will fight to protect our father and our home, We will bring death and destruction to our enemies, we will stand over their dead, we shall be victorious!” He lifted his arm, and the entire ship boomed of war cries from each Regiment, Cheering at the prospect of victory.

The General looked on proudly at the guardsmen and smiled. “Good, that’s what I like to hear, we will be arriving to Vannar soon; for now I will give your superiors their orders, at ease men.”

Once the order to ease was given, each Regiment began to work harder to prepare for the upcoming war, some went to a priest for prayers while others began to stockpile on ammunition for their companies. Alexandr walked over and double checked his equipment, as Vasili sat down eating the ship’s rations. “That was rather inspiring; still you believe we can beat these bastards?” He asked with a mouthful of what can be described as “meatloaf”, Alexandr looked at his weapon, seeing the Aquila of the Emperor’s eagle before smiling fondly.

“As long as the Emperor shields us, I believe we shall.” He answered with a hopeful tone in his voice, and then looked at Vasili. “And once the campaign is over, I’ll ask to be transferred to someplace quiet, and make a life there.” Vasili chuckled at Alexandr’s dream but lifted his ration can in the air. “Here’s to hoping, Comrade.”


	2. The First Drop

**302.002.M42**

**Pvt. Alexandr**

**Vannar Airspace, aboard the 501st Valkyrie transport**

**10 Minutes before landing**

“ _It was 2 days until we had finally reached the planet, from what some of my comrades had told me, the planet was strange in its own right, the weather was chilly in some parts of its lands, while others were as hot as the deserts of Tallarn, other areas are merely perfect, I am on a Valkyrie transport flying on route to the drop site, until we were attacked by flak guns from below…_ ”

* * *

As the ship rumbled the Tech priests within chanting and praying vigorously to calm the Machine’s spirit within the metal of the mighty vessel. The men are standing at the ready as the ship is nearing the landing zone, each guard regiment have been ordered a specific mission objective by their leading commander, under orders of Lord General Brieger. The Valhallan regiment and the Cadian Regiment were ordered to move into the city and take the city back, which is being attacked by Ork forces. Alexandr sat in a confined space sharpening his knife; he looked up to see at least 24 men including himself stuck in closed quarters as they await to land and charge into the city.

The briefing was short but simple, as he recalled his orders from his commanding officers. “Our mission comrades is a simple one, but important, We’ll be fighting alongside the Cadian 24th regiment their 1st and 3rd company will be charging into the city along with our 1st and 3rd, our mission is to enter the city of Storvingrad, the city is being besieged by Ork forces, so I will not tell you who to shoot at, once in we will find and secure the Planetary governor’s Mansion and from there we defend it until the rest of our force drives the green skins back, I will warn you all men, retreat and cowardice are not an option, any who fail to uphold their duty will be executed without mercy, are we clear; good, now get your gear we head out in 0400 hours.”

As Alexandr puts away his knife, the ship rumbles slightly followed by a loud piercing stinging sound of metal ripping metal, as the Valkyrie was under fire, soldiers, both Cadian and Valhallan, had sustained injuries, only one of the men died immediately, blood sprayed at the soldiers who were close by him. The pilot shouts out in the intercom above them. “All units prepare to jump out; we’re above the drop point, anyone who isn’t dead move in and fight, for the Emperor!”

The men shouted back “For the Emperor” and grabbed held their weapons close, Alexandr looked over to the fallen soldier and grabbed his ammunition. The ship landed with a heavy thud, all the men inside stood up immediately, the doors opened wide, the first soldier attempted to step out only to be torn apart by a hail of bullet fire, Alexandr and the other soldiers opened fire at their hidden enemy as they each jumped out one by one looking for cover. Alexandr quickly rushed to nearby stone debris and sets himself up, the other men weren’t so lucky. The Valkyrie exploded from a missile, some of the metal debris flying out, slashing or decapitating the men that were once onboard, three Cadian troops were in the blast radius one of them had shrapnel tear his face apart, and the other two were caught in the explosion as they were burned alive, while four Valhallan soldiers attempted a charge only to be shot to death by their killers, their limbs torn to shreds, intestines pouring out of their wounds, one of them was lucky to have their head blown off so they won’t suffer the pain. Alexandr took notice of the environment around him; they were in the only part of the city that wasn’t overrun by Orks only it wasn’t the most ideal position but it was close to the inner city than most areas, which means more intense fighting is yet to come, he noticed this was an imperial judiciary quarter of the city, meaning they weren’t far from the planetary governor’s mansion, but they still had to get through a large mob of Orks that are between them and their mission objective.

As Alexandr tried to peak out at the corner to see where the Ork invaders were hiding, he was grabbed by his coat from behind, he turns quickly pointing his lasgun at whoever pulled him, only to see Vasili with one of his hands in the air, and the other holding his lasgun. Alexandr calmed down before shouting at Vasili.

“Do not scare me like that Vasili, I could’ve shot you!” He exclaimed before setting himself back in a crouched position. Vasili huffed at him. “Well, if that’s how you say “thank you for not letting me get shot by an Ork “Sniper”, than I worry what you say for a “your welcome” comrade.” He responded jokingly, though it was soon replaced with fear as bullet fire whizzed overhead. Alexandr growled as he looked around from their hiding spot.

“Where is the sergeant!?” He urgently asked as he fired his lasgun blindly from his spot. Vasili pointed behind him. “Our Sergeant is over by that bombed house about 2 yards that way!” He said to Alex as a missile explosion erupted behind their cover. “Right, lead the way, I’ll follow.”

Both men grabbed their gear and began a quick rush to the Sergeant. Alexandr and Vasili fired in the general direction of the Ork ordinance, only to be answered back by loud roars and guns blazing, the two men quickly ducked into the damaged building before they were shot. As they rested along the stone walls, they took a moment to catch their breath, this was Alexandr’s first time in the front lines, he was no stranger to fighting against Orks but not in situations like this, His breath was ragged, his clothes already covered in both dirt and dust from the battlefield and his heart felt like it was going to burst, he looked over to Vasili who seemed to be in the same situation, noticing that his hands were shaking violently.

As the two men sat there looking as if they have just suffered a traumatic nightmare an authoritative voice caught their attention from their thoughts. “Up on your feet soldiers, there’s no time to sit there like cowards!”

The two men looked up to see an middle aged man, black hair with a bionic eye, holding a chainsword and Laspistol, his armor was that of the Cadian regiment, beside him was a young man no older than 18 by the first look of him, also wearing cadian armor and on his back was a vox-caster, signifying himself as the radio operator of the squad.

Alexandr and Vasili stood up from their hiding spot and saluted their higher ranked ally. “Forgive us sir, we did not mean to rest during a firefight, sir!” Vasili shouted, as Alexandr kept quiet, he looked around only to notice it that they were the only ones in the fallen building. The sergeant nods his head at Vasili. “By the god emperor please tell me there were more survivors private.” He asked sternly expecting some good news from this whole mess of an invasion.

Vasili shook his head as he reported. “I’m afraid not sir, the majority of our squad have fallen to the enemy, only private Alexandr and I were the only ones that made it, sir!” The Sergeant growled as he slammed the butt end of his pistol in outrage.

“DAMN IT, We can’t push forward without the main force, at this rate, the Orks will get tired of taking lucky potshots at us and charge at us head on, this operations gone from salvageable to F.U.B.A.R. in a matter of hours!” He stated bluntly, the vox-carrier placed a calm hand on the sergeant’s shoulder. “Father, I’m sure we can find a way to get around this, the God Emperor will not abandon his servants like this, would he?” He asked with genuine concern, he looked at his father with some form of innocence in his eye; The Sergeant looked at his own son and sighed heavily.

“No son, he will never abandon us, he will guide us a way to victory, but at the moment we’re blind as an Ur-ghul.” He said calmly despite the sounds of explosions and bullet fire around him. He looked around to see there were only the four of them out of the twenty-four that had arrived on the Valkyrie. He placed his back against the wall and slides along the length and sticks his head out slowly to get a better look of his surroundings, he notices the Ork Boyz and Lootas firing randomly in an open space, beside them were a squadron of Tankbusta boyz, looking to be scanning the area for something to shoot at, all of the Orks were across a large Facility with the building blown to pieces giving the orks plenty of places to cover and set up, the Sergeant scanned the area quickly as he noticed an open manhole covering heading to the city sewers, however it was out in the open, and he wasn’t sure how deep the sewers were, but it was the only way it seemed. Suddenly a barrage of bullets struck the stone, causing the sergeant to jerk back before he got hit. 

“Alright men, the Orks have us pretty damned pinned, however there’s an open manhole big enough to fit at least one man, but it’s out in the open there, if we cover the area with smoke, we might have a chance to get through the Ork’s blatant firing barrage.” He suggested as the others agreed with the plan. Alexandr took out his smoke grenade. “I’ll toss the grenade, sir.” The Sergeant nods his head as he moved aside. “Once the smoke is thick enough, everyone head into the manhole.”

Once everyone got ready, Alexandr made a quick prayer as he unpins the grenade and tossed it over his shoulder, the grenade make a loud clinking sound, causing the Orks to shoot wildly at the grenade, only for a stray bullet to hit it, causing an immediate smoky explosion to occur, confusing every ork in sight to go wild and shoot randomly, even the tankbusta boy fired off a missile and it impacted above the Imperial’s position, as their cover began to finally crumble and give away.

“MOVE!” Yell the sergeant as all four of them rushed out hiding, avoiding getting shot at by the stray bullets, The sergeant stopped on top of the open manhole and waved everyone over quickly, the first to go in was Vasili as he jumped in, a sound of water splashing can be heard, followed by a half-hurl, seemed the orks were using the toilets, next was the Vox-carrier who took a more careful approach by using the ladder attached and made his way down slowly but safely, the smoke was slowly starting to dissipate, exposing one Ork boy who was scanning the area, Alexandr lifted his lasgun, switching the firing mechanism to bolt action and fired a 8mm round straight at the Ork’s temple, the bullet tore past his head in between his eyes as the ork falls forward and into the city streets. Alexandr pulled his weapon over his shoulder and grabbed the ladder, quickly moving a few steps before leaping down, landing hard but uninjured to the side of the sewers, the Sergeant fired off a few rounds from his laspistol, then climbing down the ladder very quickly, and just before a Missile zoomed past and exploded causing the sewers to rumble and the stones around them quake, shaking the dust above them.

“Is everyone still alive, sound off.” The sergeant ordered as everyone muttered a yes. Vasili climbed out of the sewer water, his bottom half drenched with sewer water and smelling of Ork waste. “I am going to need a shower after this.” He commented crossly. Alexandr merely snickered at Vasili’s condition. “Oh I’m sure you’ll be fine Comrade, after all we’ll be wadding through the shit anyhow.” Alexandr commented calmly, before taking notice of the father and son.

“Speaking of which, who do we call you two?” Alexandr inquired as he stood there at ease.

“My name is Claude Cassis, but most people call me “Cass”, this is my son, Xavier.” Cass introduced the both of them, while Xavier waved at the Valhallan warriors. “Greetings.”

Vasili observed Cass curiously. “You let your son join the guard?” He questioned with good reason, both he and Alexandr knew that Cadians don’t have many purebred warriors, since the fall of Cadia, as most Cadian armored infantrymen tend to be volunteers from other planets to make up the majority of the guard. Cass nods his head. “I’m afraid I had no choice, this soldier had stowed away onto one of our lemun russ’ only ten days ago before we were sent to this planet, I had to report this to one of the commissars who is a friend of mine and to avoid being shot under suspicion of traitorous acts, we had to make him part of the military, sadly I didn’t think he’d be joining with us on the frontlines with me.” He said dissatisfied with the outcome.

Xavier scoffed at his father’s concerns. “Father, I am a Cadian by heart, the battlefield is my calling, I just… need experience, yeah, that’s it.” He indicated proudly, though his father remained skeptical of his son, but he was at least glad, that he wasn’t shell-shocked by the whole ordeal they had just survived.

With introductions out of the way, Alexandr looked up at the opening above them, seeing they can’t go out the way they came from without being shot. “So, what do we do now?” He queried, as he looked at Cass for orders. Cass took out a map of the city and a compass; he took a moment to quickly read the map before initiating orders. “Our orders are still the same, we are to thwart the enemy in the city and retake it from them, though we won’t get any reinforcements with those green skin bastards shooting down our men, I suggest first we cause a distraction and give our men some leeway before we continue on deeper into the city, agreed?” He scanned the men for their approval, to which they agreed whole heartily. “Good, now follow me, there should be another exit that we can use to get around them.”  
The quartet of guardsmen double timed along the stone walkways underneath the sewers, the Sergeant leading the way, using the flash light attached on his chest to light the way, no more than a few minutes they encounter a ladder heading up behind the Ork’s defensive line. Alexandr went ahead, climbing up until he encountered the manhole cover. After some effort of lifting the metal covering, he took a moment to cover his surroundings, before dragging it off the hole. Lifting his lasgun he takes a double check of the area, before notifying the others to join him. Cass climbed up the ladder following Vasili and lastly Xavier. The men walked slowly and carefully along the wall of the broken down apartment until they heard laughing and gun fire from around the blown out hole behind the facility, Alexandr took a quick peak before jolting back in position.

“I saw four Orks with large guns, and 3 Gunners.” He reported.

“What about their artillery?” Vasili questioned, Alexandr shook his head. “I couldn’t see them.”

Cass moved up and noticed the facility had a second floor. “They’re probably a floor above us, if we sneak past this group, we can jump on the enemy above us.” He advised, to which the men nodded in settling with the plan. “Alright, get your bayonets ready, we’ll be going into close quarter combat, remember, we don’t have to kill them all, just distract them enough so we have an opening for our men to pass through.” He ordered, as he gripped his chainsword, as the other infantrymen affixed their bayonets onto their barrel lug, as they sneaked around the Orks firing another barrage. The men could hear the jeering and jostling of the Ork fighters.

“AHAHA, Look at dem gits, can’t even manage to give a propa foight, dey is!” Yelled an ork loota carrying a makeshift heavy machine gun with a large polka dot barrel, painted with blue coloring.

The other Ork, carrying a double barreled lascannon colored in red paint, scoffed at his compatriot. “Nah, if ya didn’t notice, one of dem ‘umie gits managed to stomp some unlucky nurd above us, I’m tellin’ ya dey be crafty dese ‘umies can be, but dey got betta gutz den de Beakies!” The two orks laughed heartily, as they unleashed another barrage out into the field.

The four soldiers used the loud noise of the Ork’s weapons to get to a nearby staircase leading to the second floor, once they reached the second floor; they were greeted by 5 ork boyz, 4 tankbusta and a Nob, a large ork that seemed to be in charge of the mob of orks, and behind him were a few grots, small fledgling creatures that were slaves to the Orks but they can be dangerous if left to group up. Thankfully there was plenty of cover; the orks had no care of letting their equipment lie around. The large ork was screaming and barking at the other orks.

“COME ON YA GITS, DON”T STOP FIRIN’ DA DAKKA UNTIL ALL DEM UMIES ARE DEAD, I AIN’T GONNA REPEAT MYSELF MATES, IF WE DON”T TAKE DIS ‘ERE CITY, THE WARBOSS IS GONNA FLOG US UNTIL WE SKINLESS DED BOYZ!” The Nob shouted loudly as he kicked a Grot against the wall, with an audible snapping sound of its bones cracking, leaving the corpse where it fell.

Cass looked around as he noticed that a Rokkit cache was left open, he nudged Alexandr, motioning silently to toss a grenade at the unattended explosives. Alex nodded and pulled out his grenade, however once he pulled the pin, the noise was loud enough that it was heard throughout the floor, with no time to lose he tosses the grenade, which thankfully lands nearby the cache, the Orks turn to see Alexandr standing, suddenly the green brutes bellowed a mighty war cry, that can be heard from a five yard radius.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!” Screamed the orks, as they all aimed their weapons, the Nob pulled out his crude heavy choppa and charged forward, swinging away without a care in the world. The soldiers pulled out their weapons and opened fire at the orks, while Cass charged forward and clashed his chainsword against the bigger Ork’s heavy weapon.

Alexandr gunned down two Boyz, while Vasili and Xavier open fired on the tankbustas, injuring one from the wild firing, however the grenade exploded, causing the second floor to fall apart and break apart, crushing a few lootas below while the explosion ripped and tore apart one boy and the entire Tankbusta crew. The Nob got distracted by the sudden force, that Cass parried the ork’s weapon and lunged his chainsword through the Orks neck, the Nob choked on his own blood as the Chainsword’s blades tore apart his throat with blood spraying across Cass’ body, followed by the Ork’s death, as he slides to the side, its head slumping to the side as it was half way decapitated, only to be proceeded with a well-placed Laspistol shot to its head for extra measure, the last of the Orks charged at the group, only for Alex and the rest of the riflemen shooting the remaining orks to death with hot laser-burns across their bodies.

As the men had a moment of respite, they heard loud footsteps coming from downstairs, before they could react the orks were charging at them with their choppas, Alexandr parried the Choppa with ease and stabbed the Ork through the chest, he pulls the trigger and blasts hot laser through the Ork, as it collapses to the ground dead. The other Ork caught Vasili by surprise and almost had thee Axe close to his head, only to be stabbed in the side by Xavier, who pushed the Ork Boy off him; the ork was stunned but he was soon overwhelmed by multiple stabbings from Vasili and Xavier’s efforts. Cass looked out to the field and see reinforcements finally arriving to the fight, he rotated his head to notice an injured loota was escaping, but he was unable to make the shot as he rushed into the burning buildings.  
The four men came back down to the main floor as they see an oncoming force of guardsmen taking the now cleared route, moving around the perimeter to remove any ork threats nearby, initial gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the area, but the skirmishes didn’t last long as Both Valhallan and Cadian forces overran the Ork forces, slaughtering them with no mercy, avenging their fallen comrades.

As the men were taking stock on their ammo, a Commissar approached them. All the men saluted him respectfully, as he eyed the four of them. “You four are the only ones that managed to pull this off?” He asked rather surprised by the effort. Cass walked forward, stone-faced as he answered the Commissar’s question with absoluteness in his tone. “Yes sir, with the aid of these men, we managed to overcome the Ork defenses, my lord.”

The commissar nodded as he looked pleased at the men. “Well, you and your men will be receiving medals at the end of the day for your bravery, we have lost 20 Valkyries and more than 200 men trying to break the line, but regardless, well done; my name is Commissar Brin Kryptman, I shall be joining you men into battle, the Governor’s Mansion is not far from this location, The Orks are preparing one desperate assault to breach the defenses, our heavy armor will be coming soon, but we need to hold them off, the motor crews will be setting up here to provide artillery support, Make use of the Vox-caster and send in the coordinates, I’ll notify the other squadrons once our men are prepared to counter attack, good luck men.” He quickly leaves to lead the men along with the other Commissars that are approaching to join in the conflict.

“Wait we’re not going to get reinforcements for our squad?!” Vasili raised a valid question as they only had 4 members in their “squad”. Cass affirmations Vasili’s question. “Sadly so I’m afraid, command wants us to take the city in any way shape or form, they also explained that squads will not be reinforced until we managed to set up an HQ in the area, so for now it’ll only be the four of us for now.”

Vasili was not at ease with this information as they were just one of millions of men ready to be eradicated at a moment’s notice; Cass cleans off bit of Ork from his chainsword and rests the blade on his shoulder. “Alright men, let’s get moving, I am not planning to get executed for being idle, lets join up with the rest of the Companies.”

The four men jogged towards an opening, keeping together as they encountered other squadrons from the mixed companies. They traveled what seemed like half an hour until they came upon what looks to be a large plaza.

The area was a large plaza, surrounded by barbed wire, trenches that spanned around the governor’s Mansion, it was a once lavish looking building now covered with sandbags, broken windows and walls torn asunder from the battle, the lands were scarred with bullets, human and ork corpses, artillery pieces now out of commission due to the attacks and destroyed Ork Vehicles, the air smelled of sulfur and death, the sky was ashen grey with the exception of black smoke rising as far as the eye could see.

The imperial guard had settled themselves within the trenches, taking over the Planet’s militia, only a few of them were actual veterans, the rest were compromised by conscripts, some no younger than fifteen, judging by their faces. The men ordered the injured conscripts to find shelter while those that refused stayed to assist in handing ammo to the real soldiers.

Alexandr and his group were stopped by Commissar Kryptman. “You four will be with me, you men won’t take part in this defense.” He ordered sternly as he motioned with his hand to follow him. Traversing the grey, broken landscape to the other side of the field, the commissar lead the squad to a still standing apartment , it was a 3rd story flat that lost the ceiling from initial bombardment. Commissar Kryptman led them inside, passing a lobby and into a back door that leads to an opened street, the neighborhood was decrepit with stone materials scattered all over the streets, but most notable was a large Infantry force with their bayonets affixed at their guns.

Cass was the first to notice this. “Sir, what are we supposed to do here?” He enquired to Kryptman, who turned to the sergeant with a neutral look upon his face. “The Orks are launching a charge upon the plaza, sadly the battlefield is so wide, that the Orks will over run us and we’ll be back to square one, our forces will be split into two, one will prepare a defensive ring around the area, commanded by Commissar Gebbit, while I lead a counter-charge against the Orks, while a group of Vox-carriers are to radio the motor teams to bombard at the Orks location.” He explained.

Cass could only look dumbfounded at the situation. “Sir, isn’t a charge against the Orks impractical, as you said they can come out of anywhere in the city.” The Commissar chuckled. “Good point Sergeant, however one of our Servitor scouts have located a blindside in the Ork’s forces, They may have a large force, but the area they must cross over is a small pass, thanks to the Orks bombarding the streets to rubble, however, it expands as they cross over, giving them more room to move around and spread, the charge is an inevitability that we must commit to, do I make myself clear Sergeant?” He explained sternly of the situation to the sergeant who silently nodded.

“Right, enough talk, we must double time to the location, post haste, Join the men and we march.” Ordered Kryptman. Cass and his men moved in along with the rest of the Guardsmen. Commissar Kryptman stood in front and looked at the men, in the middle of the large force, he could see there were his fellow Commissars among the men, only standing there to keep order. With everything now ready, He orders the men to March hastily towards the location.

After 10 minutes of Intense jogging, the men were set up at the aforementioned pass, they could obviously hear the Ork Waaagh! On the other side, some of the men broke in cold sweats of the sound, some holding onto their rifles close to their persons. Alexandr looked at Vasili beside him, who seemed to be shaking, while on the other side, he could see Cass praying for the Emperor to protect them, He took a moment to look behind him to see a small number of Commissars and guardsmen protecting Xavier and other Vox-carriers.  
Commissar Kryptman walked to the front of the men and looked around. Several skull servitors floating around the men started to groan to life, as sound of Kryptman’s voice echoed throughout the field of soldiers.

“ _Welcome to Vannar Men, you all begin the greatest moment in your entire lives, those of you who made it this far, I commend you, those that broke through the line, I applaud you, but I am not here to speak of your appraisal, as we have a war to fight; The Orks have taken the city and surrounded us with their barbaric soldiers, but fear not men, for that means little to us, it simply means we can open fire at any direction the enemy comes at us from; The Ork’s brutalized forces are preparing to charge at us with everything at their disposal, and they shall do everything in their power to claim this city, even climbing over the mountains of their own dead if they must; The High lords of Terra, Our Imperium, our god emperor, has given us the task not to let the enemies of men push us out of the planet, and to defend Holy Terra; Our sacred duty is to hold the line against the enemy and forward up into the unremitting battle, For the god Emperor demands it and so we shall will it; for we shall not step a single foot back from this duty; all cowards, traitors and heretics will be shot with no mercy; I want you all to remember this moment, Do not count the days you are on this planet, do not count the miles of land we will retake for the imperium, count only the number of foes you have slain; Kill the Xeno, this is your creed, Kill the enemies of man, this is the cry of the God Emperor himself; Do not waver in your conviction, do not waver in your faith, only kill!_ ”

He unsheathed his sword and raised it into the air.

“ _ **FOR THE GOD EMPEROR!!**_ ”He cried as he as charged towards the Orks as the xenos began their charge.

The men are now inspired, some screaming to the top of their lungs as a surge overcame them, following Commissar Kryptman’s example of bravery, and charging towards the enemy. Alexandr noticed Vasili had stopped shaking, and Cass felt resolute in the commissar’s words. The imperial guardsmen charged forward in a surge of ferocity as the Orks came in small groups, firing upon the humans, some of the men were shot to death but this did not dissuade them as they continued, Bayonets aimed to kill the Orks in front of them, Kryptman had just engaged with an Ork Nob, only to be swept up in a sea of human flesh, while the Nob was stabbed to death, The Orks charged forward, clashing with the humans.

Alexandr viciously slashed an ork boyz’ neck, and plunged his blade onto another ork, Vasili’s blade snapped onto an armored ork, but proceeded to bash the ork’s exposed head with his Lasgun, until it was a bloody pulp, Cass wildly swung his chainsword, tearing flesh and bone as any that stood in front of him were viciously slain.

As the battle continued, the Orks losing many of their boyz in the bloody charge, the imperial guardsmen were suffering their own casualties as the boyz were now replaced with ork nobz, They were built stronger than the regular boyz, which gave the defenders a hard time to handle them. It wasn’t until the first explosion occurred at the pass that the motors were fired, Xavier and the rest of the Vox-carriers sent in orders from their Commissar to allow bombardment onto the enemy, mutilating the orks into a bloody red paste, but this did not stop them from continuing the charge as the audible war cry continue to echo.

Alexandr finished off a fallen nob, as Vasili fell to his knees, avoiding his head from being cleaved off, followed by the mentioned nob to be decapitated by Kryptman’s sword. “I don’t have the energy to continue Comrade!” Vasili yelled out to Alexandr, who was equally as tired, both their armor were covered in ork blood and some human whenever they were killed beside them, Alexandr lost his pilotka early in the battle, revealing his shaggy blonde hair, He was breathing heavily as he lost count how many orks he had slain. “Just hold out Vasili, we just need to hold out a little longer!” Alexandr shouted as he rushed to assist Vasili up to his feet, Cass was seen flying into them as he was pushed back by an Ork nob, Alexandr and Vasili caught him, before he fell, they both noticed his armor dented and scratched, with a visible cut over it. “You men alright?” He questioned quickly before deflecting the ork and shooting him with his Laspistol.

Before the two could answer, the buildings began to fall apart as suddenly a group of deff dreads, Mechanized ork dreadnought machines that wielded dangerous weapons, appeared, followed by ork Mechanobz, Ork nobz covered in heavy armor, carrying much bigger weapons than most infantry orks would carry.

“ALL FORCES FALL BACK!” Yelled Kryptman as the Soldiers stopped fighting and made a retreat, the Orks began to open fire, mowing down any that were unlucky to face them.

Cass and his group reunited with Xavier, as they fell back to the Plaza, watching as the men they had just fought alongside them get turned to bloody pulped corpses, some Commissars and some hapless candidates were ordered to fire at the ork’s stronger force, only to fail miserably as they were eliminated without remorse.

The squad reunited with Kryptman at the plaza, Kryptman was breathing heavily his jacket and clothes covered in blood, his face had light scratches and a black eye from the battle. “Seems we gave the men enough time but this won’t be enough to stop the Ork’s abominable machinations.” He said quite bluntly and honestly. He stood up and watched as the remainder of the men he led managed to reach a trench or foxhole.

“MEN WE HOLD THE LINE HERE, WHEN YOU SEE THE ORKS COME, UNLEASH HELL UPON THE XENO FILTH!” He shouted his order for all that could hear him, the men prepared their defenses while a few others were still quivering in fear from almost dying, only to be grabbed by their comrades and given their weapon to fight on. Some of them attempted to run for safety in the Mansion, only to be shot by the Commissars from inside.

After a tense moment the Deff dreads and the ork fighters charged into the guard’s line of sight, and all hell broke loose as concentrated lasgun fire burned through some of the nobz, heavy bolter fire gunned down the mechanobz, while the Anti-tank guns did some damage to the deff dreads. However despite a well-defended attempt, the Orks tore into the first trench and slain the defenders with ease, filling the trench with bodies of fallen guardsmen. The next Trench did not relent as they used their weapons as clubs to hold the enemy, but they too fell to the orks, despite the reinforcements that came pouring in, the guards knew they will be overrun soon.

Alexandr fired each shot desperately with the others as the orks will soon be upon their trench. The orks were soon finished and began to charge at the third trench, as soon as the first ork got close, he was soon gunned down, falling face first in front of Alexandr. He looked over to see the building collapsing to into smoke, only for the smoke to spread out from a fiery flying object piercing through the smoke and blowing up a deff dread.

The Vostroyan 5th Armor Company, followed by Tallarn 10th Infantry Company, supported by Tempestus scion units. The Orks attempted to fight the newly arrived guardsmen only to be blown apart by the heavy armor and lasgun fire, the Orks had no choice but to fall back, the Tallarn fighters continued to push forward with the armor, while the Tempestus scions covered the rear guard.

The first battle of Vannar has been won. With the Governor’s office secured, it will be awhile before the city can be reclaimed, but with a now functioning starting Headquarters to reclaim the planet, it was a first step to the right direction.After the Battle, Kryptman walked up to Cass and his squadron, handing them medals as he promised. “Well done men, I must say, you done the imperial guard proud this day, I expect you all to do your part, you’ll be given a new batch of soldiers in your squad sergeant, I’ll expect your assistance in retaking the city from the Xeno, at ease.” Cass saluted to the Commissar, followed by the others who stood at attention, before he left. Cass sighed in relief as he looked over to see the bodies of the dead being collected, almost glad that it wasn’t him or his son among the dead.

“Alright men, looks like we got a lot of work ahead of us, restock on anything you need and rest, we got a busy schedule before this war is through, as you were.” He stated before he left, followed by his son, who was tired from the ordeal. Vasili looked at his jacket wearing a big grin on his face.

“Today was hell, but we did get noticed by a Commissar, and we didn’t get killed, I’m telling you comrade we will come out of this as heroes!” He excitedly exclaimed, Alexandr didn’t share his friend’s enthusiasm as he just watched his allies die gruesomely in front of him. He shook his head and heads to find a place to rest.

* * *

Meanwhile, Inside the Governor’s office, Lord General Brieger was meeting with the Planetary Governor named Mellor Fisk. Fisk was a skinny looking nobleman, his face was old with augmentation on both his eyes, wearing a respirator on his side, he looked as if he just came out of bed, wearing nothing but his work clothes that had been dirtied from frontline fighting. He was sitting on his desk, pouring glass of wine for both He and the Lord General.

“I appreciate this relief force, Lord General, we’ve been fighting these xeno bastards for weeks, I can’t express my gratitude.” He said calmly as he praised general Brieger’s assistance.

“My pleasure, after what you told me, it was important to bring the hammer of the Emperor on these barbaric swine… Still, this campaign might take some time, what with the other enemies of man still a viable threat.” He said bluntly, mulling over the situation that has arisen before the imperial guard’s arrival.

Fisk nods his head. “Indeed, it was because of that damn leak that occurred once we had discovered that horrid Eldar tech, still I wish we could’ve destroyed the damn thing, it has been nothing but trouble lord general, I knew it but my brother was more than insistent on studying it for the imperium’s use… shame he died for nothing.” He said disgruntled by the whole affair as he downs his wine in one gulp.

“Well, don’t fret Governor Fisk, we’ll take care of the situation, in the meantime, I suggest rallying the people to do their part of assisting our men with food and supplies.” Said Brieger as he walked over to the window, watching his men either resting or preparing defenses around the Plaza.

As the Governor allowed the request, one of the Vox-carriers came in. “Sir, We have a situation.” Both men looked at the soldier.  
“What is it Private?” Said Brieger as he expressed discontent with whatever the private’s news might be.

“Sir, we received a faint signal from a facility about far northeast from here, sadly we noticed our Vox-casters haven’t been able to receive nor transmit messages sir, all of them, sir.” Reported the private as he explained the situation, though the governor was the first to express abhorrence to the news.

“It’s the Tau, before the orks invaded the city, we were confronted by them, asking us to join their empire and to peacefully hand over the technology, suffice to say we told them no, and rid ourselves of their presence, but they have annihilated one our neighboring cities and took control of the Northeastern expanse, where our communications array are located, we’ve concluded they have been jamming the planet’s signals, we’ve only managed to send help before their jamming tech had reached our city, then came the Ork attacks where… as you saw, we have little to no communication here.”

Brieger mulled over this information before looking at the private. “Tell me, have the mechanicus arrived yet?” He inquired to the private, the soldier nods his head. “Sir, I was part of the last few groups that arrived on the planet, and I can tell you one hundred percent that I saw the Mechanicus fleet hovering near the Mors a sanguine, sir.”

The general nods his head approvingly. “Good, you’re dismissed private, I’ll deal with this myself.” The soldier nods as he leaves the room. “Don’t worry Governor, we’ll deal with clearing the city of the ork infestation here for now, let’s leave the Communications problem to the Mechanicus.” The lord general chuckled to himself as he drinks his wine, overlooking the burning city.


End file.
